We about Wasabi
The story of the Wasabi is a story full of mysteries… Snore, boring, for those still with us, here are a few Natsu facts about wasabi and especially about our wasabi paste. A little introduction: The story of the Wasabis… Wait a moment, we already did that.
So, the little green bags you’ll find in our sushi boxes contain our wasabi paste. It consists of 15 % genuine wasabi root and gets its green color from the dried and ground leaves of the wasabi plant. That’s enough about our Wasabi for now.
Wasabi or Eutrema japonica, for the botanists among you, is a tuber fruit from Japan. There, the demand for it is so great that large quantities have to be imported from the surrounding countries and the USA. Actually, only the root itself is used, but the leaves are also often used, for example by us – they give our wasabi paste its beautiful green color. As there is a lot to consider when growing (the plant should not be too dry, not too humid, the lighting needs to be right and so on), wasabi is not a real mass product, which can lead to a kilo price of more than $ 200. In sushi bars and ready-made sushi from the supermarket you often get a wasabi paste that actually does not deserve its name, because it has about as much in common with wasabi as sushi with sirloin (we tried that one – it was a disaster). It consists of horseradish and mustard and gets its extremely green color through artificial (Tartrazine E102 and Brilliant Blue FCF E133) or natural (Chlorophyll and Spirulina) colorants. The Japanese lovingly calls this “Western Wasabi”. If you ask yourself, why even bother? On one hand, it is simply more traditional to work with real wasabi, on the other hand, real wasabi is much sharper than the European horseradish. This spiciness stems from volatile mustard oils, which, unlike the hotness of jalapeños or peppers, can be immediately tempered by water or other drinks.
We pack our wasabi paste in small bags, as it can easily transfer its taste to the sushi through evaporation and because not everyone likes to eat spicy. That’s why we give you the opportunity to decide how much or how little of it gets to your sushi. We hope that we could give you a small overview of Wasabi. If you have any questions, just use our contact form and contact us. We look forward to answering your questions.